1. Chapter 1

The trip back to Forks seemed interminable. Edward was a nervous mixture of remorse and concern. Despite the chill I always felt from his skin, I could have sworn heat was coming off him in waves; heat to rival Jacob’s.

Why? Why did my being pregnant disgust him? I wanted to seek comfort in his arms, but I was too confused. I’m sure he mistook my confusion for anger with him, which was, in itself, frustrating.

How could I be angry with him for giving me a baby?Of course, I knew that he feared the child would be a monster—some sort of half-vampire horror that would suck the life out of me. I knew what morte meant. But. This little nudger, this child was Edward’s—his and mine. How could something born out of such love be dangerous? How could I harm this living thing inside me? This definitely is not how I had ever pictured the return from our honeymoon.

Hour after hour dragged by. We changed planes in Houston, flew to Seattle, and then drove from Seattle to Forks. Tired as I was, I stayed awake on the drive to the Cullen house, my new home. I knew what I had to be ready to do as soon as we arrived.Thankfully, she was there. My unlikely ally and protector was waiting for us outside on the porch.

Rose

Ok. I have to hand it to Bella. This girl is anything but normal. I was being as nice to her as I could in the weeks leading up to the wedding. After all, Edward loved her—this much was obvious—and she was definitely in love with him, although why any human girl would date a vampire is beyond me. Emmett thinks Bella is great, and really, I’ve been trying to like her. I guess I owed her a little, after nearly getting Edward killed with my premature phone call earlier this year.

The wedding was lovely, and while I have little experience with cross-species functions, it seemed to go off quite well; meaning the innocent townsfolk seemed to have no idea they were surrounded by mythical creatures. I should have enjoyed the day more. I had no idea just how weird things were about to get.

I remember exactly where I was when I answered her call. I had just returned from hunting with Emmett, and we were both a little worked up with all that primal-instinct stuff. We were heading toward our little spot near the river when—dammit—why was Edward calling me from his honeymoon?

“Hello?”

“Rosalie? It’s Bella.”

Why is Bella calling ME from Isle Esme, on her freaking honeymoon, while I am fighting off an obviously excited Emmett?

My help? When had I ever implied that my help was available to Bella? If Edward was in trouble, why was she calling me instead of Carlisle or Esme or Alice?

“What’s going on, Bella?” I was getting annoyed now. Between trying to figure out what on earth Bella could be bothering me about and Emmett not respecting the fact that I was on the phone, I was ready to hang up on both of them. Bella started speaking quickly, in a rushed whisper.

“Get off!” I hissed at Emmett, sotto voce. He could wait. This was unbelievable.

How could Bella be pregnant? Even if she were, which seemed impossible, given that she was married to a member of the undead, unless she had been cheating on Edward, which seemed even more impossible, given her obvious naiveté, plus the fact that Alice would have seen it…how would she possibly know she was pregnant? They’d only even been gone a little over two weeks.

“Bella. What do you mean? How can you be pregnant?”

“I am. Even Carlisle thinks so. I’m starving and exhausted and sick and—I can—I can feel him move. Rosalie, please help me. I think you’re the only one who can understand. Please—help me protect this baby. I have to go—Edward’s waiting—he doesn’t know I’ve called you.”

I was momentarily speechless. So many human emotions were playing in my still heart—pity, longing, envy, grief.